Mounting injuries and inexperience, combined with a hot Detroit Tigers team, is what prevented the Indians from finishing in first to end the 2011 season.  Already, the Cleveland Indians have made some moves for the upcoming 2012 season.

Two notable moves involving their roster from 2011 is that they picked up the $7 million club option on RHP Fausto Carmona and declined the $9 million club option on OF Grady Sizemore, instead opting to pay Sizemore a $500,000 buyout.  Despite Carmona’s inconsistencies in 2011 that led to his being demoted from the #1 Opening Day starter to the #5 starter, he still has the ability to dominate and throw a gem from time to time.  Combine that with a reasonable $7 million club option and the fact that young and promising RHP Carlos Carrasco is out for all of 2012 due to ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (a.k.a. “Tommy John” surgery), picking up Carmona’s option should not be a huge surprise for Indians’ fans.  Carmona is projected to be the Cleveland Indians’ #4 starter in 2012.

Declining Sizemore’s option may come as a surprise for some Indians’ fans, but it really shouldn’t.  Sizemore has really not been the same player he showed from 2005-2008, when he averaged around a .280 BA with 27 HR and 81 RBI.  From 2009-2011, Sizemore has only played in 210 games, averaging around a .230 BA with 9 HR and 36 RBI.  Sizemore’s injuries have played quite a toll on his offensive production.  Even his defense in center field has not been as good as it was from 2005-2008 due to the injuries to his knees and elbow.  Combine that with the Indians’ limited financial resources, and it was essentially a guarantee that Sizemore’s option would be declined.

The Indians tried to work out a deal with Sizemore’s agent, Joe Urbon of CAA Sports, to try to get Grady to sign a lower-priced deal with incentives to return to Cleveland, but Sizemore and his agent preferred to test the free agent market.  While Sizemore is still a free agent, it is expected that a more risk-tolerant ballclub will offer him a one-year deal for around the $9 million Sizemore was expected to make this year, so his chances of returning to the Indians appear remote at this point.  It’s likely the Indians will have to sign for a center fielder, trade for one (Tampa Bay OF B.J. Upton is most often mentioned), or move young OF Michael Brantley back to center field on a full-time basis to fill that gap.

The Indians have made one other significant move to this point, addressing a need to bolster their rotation, which most people felt they did by trading left-handed pitching prospect Chris Jones to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Major League veteran Derek Lowe.  Lowe did not have the greatest season in 2011, only going 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA, along with 212 H, 70 BB, and 137 K in 187.0 IP.  Still, his underlying statistics suggest that he should be a valuable innings eater, and being that the Cleveland Indians expect him to be their #5 starter, most see it as an upgrade for the Indians’ 2012 rotation.  Lowe will also be one of the most veteran players on the Indians’ roster, as he is 38 years old and has been in the Major Leagues since 1997.  Additionally, the Indians are only responsible for $5 million of Lowe’s $15 million salary, as the Braves are picking up the other $10 million.

The 2011 Cleveland Indians were known as an up-and-coming team that may be arriving a year earlier than expected, so much so that many experts are thinking that the 2012 Cleveland Indians could vie for a postseason berth.  Many of their young players, such as SS Asdrubal Cabrera and C Carlos Santana, gained a valuable year of experience, much of it in a postseason race, which should aid them in staying consistent and productive throughout the entire 2012 season.

Veteran DH Travis Hafner returns, and is reportedly healthy.  Hafner’s health has been a major problem over most of the past four seasons, but Hafner probably had his healthiest season since 2007 in 2011, and still showed that he can have a productive bat in the lineup, hitting .280/.361/.449 in 325 ABs.  He will be the most experienced bat in the Indians’ predominantly young lineup in 2012; when he went down with an oblique injury in mid-2011, that is when the Indians started to slide in the standings, as the Indians could not make up for his veteran presence in the lineup.  Having Hafner remain healthy throughout the 2012 season will be critical to the Indians’ postseason chances in 2012.

One other veteran hitter who will return in 2012 is OF-1B Shelley Duncan.  Duncan only has 229 games of Major League experience, but has been around for five seasons and knows his role of being a pinch hitter and occasional starter against left-handed pitching.  In addition, he performed well in limited duty in 2011, hitting .260/.324/.484 in 223 ABs.  The Indians will need him to be productive again to boost their postseason chances in 2012.

With the addition of Lowe, the rotation should have more stability in it, as RHP Justin Masterson emerged as a potential ace in 2011 with a 12-10 record and a 3.21 ERA, along with 211 H, 65 BB, and 158 K in 216.0 IP.  2006 19th-round draft pick RHP Josh Tomlin also was a nice addition, as not much was expected of him, but he proceeded in his rookie season to go 12-7 with a 4.25 ERA, along with 157 H/21 BB/89 K in 165.1 IP.  He’s slated to be the #3 starter in the 2012 Cleveland Indians’ rotation.

The biggest key to the 2012 Cleveland Indians’ rotation, though, may be the performance of RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, who was acquired in a trade with the Colorado Rockies in July 2011 for top pitching prospects LHP Drew Pomeranz and RHP Alex White, along with RHP Joe Gardner and C-1B-OF Matt McBride.  Jimenez was pretty erratic in his time with the Indians, as he looked like the ace many were expecting him to be at times, but looked pretty ordinary in other starts, with plenty of walks and instances where he fell behind in the count.  Some believe that the fact he injured his thumb in Spring Training and then reinjured it in early April caused him to never get on track for the season, which could partly explain why he didn’t perform as well with Cleveland as expected.  Getting him back to or closer to his first-half 2010 form, where Jimenez started the season 11-1 with a 0.93 ERA, will likely go a long way toward whether the Indians make the postseason in 2012 or not, as he is projected to be the Indians’ #2 starter.

The bullpen should have most of its 2011 main components, anchored by young RHP Chris Perez, whom the Indians acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for INF Mark DeRosa in 2009.  Other young relievers like 2004 45th-round draft pick LHP Tony Sipp and 2006 20th-round draft pick RHP Vinnie Pestano should be key components of the bullpen.  It’s possible some trades could occur regarding RHP Joe Smith and LHP Rafael Perez, both of whom are arbitration eligible and possibly could receive more money.  If either or both are traded, bullpen pitching prospects LHP Nick Hagadone (acquired in the Victor Martinez trade with Boston in 2008), RHP Chen-Chang Lee (Taiwanese signing), RHP Zach Putnam (2008 5th-round draft pick), and RHP Josh Judy (2007 34th-round draft pick) will likely step in to fill the voids.

Offensively, noted position player prospects 2B Jason Kipnis (2009 2nd-round draft pick) and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall (2008 1st-round draft pick) should be more attuned to what Major League pitchers are doing to get them out, which should help them to become more integral parts of the Cleveland Indians’ offense in 2012.  The Indians could potentially get more help in 1B Beau Mills (2007 1st-round draft pick), who rebounded after two disappointing seasons in AA to reach AAA and post a line of .269/.326/.496 in 119 AAA ABs.  This is made possible because 1B Matt LaPorta, acquired in the 2008 trade of LHP C.C. Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers, has been largely a disappointment offensively and defensively, likely relegating him to the bench for the Cleveland Indians in 2012.  It’s also possible that the Indians may look to sign or trade for a first baseman to fill that hole.  First baseman Derrek Lee has been mentioned as a possible target, being that he has many years of Major League experience, still is a solid offensive performer at first base, and has won three Gold Gloves at first base.

Speaking of defense, the Indians need to improve upon their defense for the 2012 season, especially since Masterson, Tomlin, and Carmona are all extreme groundball pitchers that rely on good defense to keep opposing offenses quiet.  Even Jimenez and Lowe have shown above-average groundball tendencies, making the infield defense a priority for the Indians this offseason.  While the 2011 Cleveland Indians started off well defensively, their defense seemed to slip during the middle to latter part of the season, which also partly explains why the team fell out of first place.  The Indians are likely looking for a premium defensive center fielder as well, as reports indicate that the Indians prefer Brantley in left field, while they prefer Carrera as a fourth outfielder who can play all three outfield positions and not as a starting center fielder.

Indians’ manager Manny Acta has been praised for keeping his young players focused on playing hard each game, even when their postseason dreams were ended in early September 2011 after the Indians led the AL Central throughout the first half of the season.  This is a major reason why the Cleveland Indians have already picked up Acta’s option to manage the Indians in 2013.  Acta has also employed more hit-and-run plays to try to create more offense, which worked to varying degrees of success throughout the 2011 season.  He even employed a squeeze play with rookie OF Ezequiel Carrera in his first Major League at-bat against the Cincinnati Reds in 2011, which worked because Carrera got his first Major League hit and RBI in the Indians’ 5-4 win over the Reds.  It’s presumed that Acta will continue to remain aggressive in trying to create offense for his young Indians in the 2012 season.

Overall, the Cleveland Indians are continuing to mature as a ballclub as they try to take the next step toward reaching the postseason in 2012.  Certainly, though, management has made it clear that the “window of opportunity” is now with the acquisitions of Jimenez and Lowe, so the Cleveland Indians will attempt to continue to develop and win at the same time in 2012.  With better health and continued development, the Cleveland Indians should have a solid chance of challenging for and finishing on top in the AL Central in 2012.

The Indians had a tough first weekend of the season, dropping two straight games to their division rivals, the Chicago White Sox.  One ominous sign that would rear its ugly head throughout much of the 2011 season was the struggles of projected #1 starter Fausto Carmona, who gave up 11 hits and 10 runs (all earned) in 3 innings pitched.  While Carmona would rebound to some extent as the season went along, his inconsistency would be a constant throughout the whole season, looking at times like the ace the Indians were hoping for, while looking at other times like more of a #5 starter, much like he did in this first game against the White Sox.  Carmona would finish the 2011 season with this line:

7 wins, 15 losses, 5.25 ERA, 188.2 IP, 205 H, 60 BB, 109 K, 1.40 WHIP

Conversely, RHP Justin Masterson was going to show that the Indians’ faith and belief of him becoming a quality starter after acquiring him from the Boston Red Sox in a 2009 trade for C Victor Martinez were well-founded, as he went out and kept the White Sox to just 1 run (earned) on 7 hits in 7 innings pitched, outdueling LHP John Danks, who gave up 2 runs (both earned) on 6 hits in 6 innings pitched.  This led to the Indians’ first win on the season, preventing the White Sox from sweeping the first series of the season.  Masterson was just beginning to look like a frontline starter, as Masterson would finish the 2011 season with this line:

12 wins, 10 losses, 3.21 ERA, 216.0 IP, 211 H, 65 BB, 158 K, 1.28 WHIP

Masterson’s win-loss record likely would have looked better had the Indians’ offense managed to stay consistent, but between mounting injuries that began occurring in May and the struggles that many young players face when they are adapting to the Major League level helped to slow the offensive production that was shown throughout much of April and May.  This led to the Indians scoring 704 runs on the season, finishing 16th in Major League Baseball in runs scored.  Masterson wound up having some of the lowest run support of any starting pitcher in baseball, adversely affecting his win-loss record despite the notably low ERA.

The Cleveland Indians jumped out to a lead in the American League Central Division that grew to as much as 7.5 games over the favored Detroit Tigers, as well as a double-digit lead on the favored Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins.  The Indians were starting to recapture their home field dominance that they showed during their powerhouse teams of the mid- to late-1990s, early 2000s, and 2007, as they went 12-2 at home in the month of April and 7-4 in the month of May.

Another similarity to those past Indians’ teams was the number of late comebacks the 2011 Indians had, including a game-winning grand slam by C Carlos Santana against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, April 29, a 2-out 2-run game-winning homerun by DH Travis Hafner against the Seattle Mariners on Friday, May 13, and a game-winning grand slam by DH Travis Hafner against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, July 8.

Three notable injuries occurring in May, June, and July that led to increasing offensive struggles and a cool down after a hot 32-20 start through the first two months of the season were the losses of OF Grady Sizemore, OF Shin-Soo Choo, and DH Travis Hafner.

Sizemore went down  in May with a right knee contusion after not appearing in his first game until April 17 due to recovery from microfracture surgery on his left knee in the offseason.  Sizemore would also return to the disabled list later in the season due to another injury to his right knee and having sports hernia surgery for the second time in his career.  The fact that Sizemore has missed significant portions of the last three seasons is a major reason why the Cleveland Indians did not pick up his 2012 option for $9 million, instead opting for a $500,000 buyout that has currently made Sizemore a free agent.  He is currently not expected to return to the Cleveland Indians for the 2012 season.

Choo, who was one of the few Indians to not be productive in April and May, went down on June 24 after suffering a broken thumb after getting hit by a fastball thrown by San Francisco Giants’ LHP Jonathan Sanchez.  Choo was just starting to get on track offensively when he was hit by the fastball.  The injury required surgery on June 28 and Choo did not make his return to the lineup until August 12, where he went on to hit 16-47 (.340) the rest of the season.

DH Travis Hafner went down with an injured tendon in his foot after sliding into home plate on August 21, 2011.  He would not return to the lineup until September 11 against the Chicago White Sox.  Hafner proceeded to hit 12-44 (.273) in the month of September.

RHP Carlos Carrasco, acquired in the trade with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009 for LHP Cliff Lee, showed considerable progress during one stretch of five starts from June 7 through June 29 when he gave up just 7 runs, 4 earned runs, in 36 2/3 innings pitched.  Unfortunately for the Indians, it was determined that Carrasco had an old injury to his pitching elbow that occurred when he was a teenager.  This led to a recurring pain in his elbow shortly after the strong stretch he showed in June.  It was recommended he undergo ulnar collateral ligament surgery (a.k.a. “Tommy John” surgery) on his elbow, which will keep him out for most to all of the 2012 season.

Despite the declining offense, struggles of Carmona, and the mounting injuries, which also included injuries to LF-CF Michael Brantley and promising rookies 2B Jason Kipnis and 3B Lonnie Chisenhall, the Indians managed to stay in first place in the AL Central Division until July when the Detroit Tigers finally overtook them for good for first place in the AL Central Division.

Indians’ GM Chris Antonetti tried to provide some help in completing trades for RHP Ubaldo Jimenez, OF Kosuke Fukudome, and DH Jim Thome, a former Indian, but the Indians could not recapture the 30-15 pace they had shown throughout the first 45 games of the season.  Meanwhile, the Tigers started to play their best ball of the season, extending the lead to double-digits and winning the AL Central Division by 15 games over the second-place Indians, winning the final 10 matchups with the Indians, including the final three games of the 2011 season.

Despite not being able to hold onto the AL Central Division lead, the Indians look to be in good shape heading into the 2012 season.  The experience they gained from the 2011 season should prove invaluable, while trends would suggest that the Indians should be healthier than they were in 2011.  Combine both of these elements, along with a few offseason moves and some luck, and the Indians can likely vie for the AL Central Division title in 2012.

In 1991, Acta was a player-coach at the A level, but soon gave up his playing career entirely to focus solely on coaching.  He became a full-time manager of an A-level team in 1993, and remained a manager in the Minors through 2000.  In 1999, Acta led the Kissimmee Cobras, the Astros’ High-A Florida State League affiliate, to the Florida State League championship.

Acta would be hired as the third base coach of the Montreal Expos under manager Frank Robinson in 2002 and would continue in this position through 2005 (the Expos became the Washington Nationals after the 2004 season after the franchise moved from Montreal to Washington D.C.).  Acta would then interview for the managerial positions of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but lost out on both positions, instead taking the third base coaching position with the New York Mets under manager Willie Randolph and staying on through the 2006 season.

On November 14, 2006, Manny Acta was hired as manager of the Washington Nationals.  He was hired primarily because he knew some of the young players from his days as third base coach of the Expos, as well as for his youth and for his enthusiasm of the game.  He helped guide the Nationals to a respectable 2007 season of 73-89 when the Nationals were projected to be one of the worst teams in baseball by many experts.  Acta came in 6th in the National League Manager of the Year award for the solid job he did as Nationals’ manager.

Another notable attribute regarding Acta’s managing skills is that Acta is one of the few managers in baseball who is aware of and uses sabermetric ideas and concepts, similar to those that are employed by respected general managers Theo Epstein of the Boston Red Sox and Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics.

After Acta was fired following a 5-0 loss to the Houston Astros on July 12, 2009, Acta interviewed with both the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians for their managerial positions following the 2009 season.  On October 25, 2009, the Cleveland Indians announced that they had signed Acta to a 3-year contract, along with an option to be manager for the 2013 season.

In Acta’s first season as manager of the Cleveland Indians, the 2010 Indians finished at 69-93, only 4 games better than their 2009 season record of 65-97.  However, the 2011 Cleveland Indians showed considerable improvement, as they started the 2011 season going 18-8 in April and 14-12 in May to be 32-20 about one-third of the way through the season.

However, the Cleveland Indians’ inexperience and mounting injuries started to take their toll, as the team started to lose its 7.5-game lead on the Detroit Tigers, who eventually overtook the Indians to win the American Central Division by 15 games at 95-67, while the Indians finished the season 80-82, holding off the Chicago White Sox by 1 game to finish in second place.

Acta’s youth, enthusiasm, and no-excuses persona rubbed off on the young Indians to still play hard down the stretch in September, despite the fact that the team was still not at full strength due to injury and the fact that they were disappointed that they would not reach the postseason after they could not hold off the Tigers to win the AL Central despite leading the division for virtually all of the first half of the season.  They finished with a respectable 12-17 record in September while playing mostly back-ups and players who had spent most of the season at the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate in Columbus.

The Cleveland Indians’ management was so impressed by Acta’s handling of the 2011 Indians, particularly dealing with the numerous injuries and the ability to get the Indians to play hard throughout September when the Indians’ postseason dreams had ended early, that management has already picked up Acta’s option for the 2013 season, essentially insuring that Acta stays with the Cleveland Indians through the 2013 season.

Acta also has gotten much of the credit for steering the Cleveland Indians toward a potential postseason birth in 2012, as most experts didn’t feel that the Indians would show potential toward being a competitive team until 2012, with potential to vie for the AL Central division title in 2013.  This is also another reason why Cleveland Indians’ management was willing to pick up Acta’s 2013 option early.

With the moves that Cleveland Indians’ General Manager Chris Antonetti has made over the past six months, particularly acquiring RHP Ubaldo Jimenez from the Colorado Rockies and RHP Derek Lowe from the Atlanta Braves, the Indians are planning on vying for the AL Central division title in 2012, and it will be up to Manny Acta to help guide the young and developing Indians toward that next step of playing at a high level throughout the whole season and earning a postseason birth in 2012.

The Cleveland Indians’ first roadtrip of 2012 will take them to AL Central rival Kansas City to face the Royals from April 13-15.  The Royals, like the Indians, are projected to be a young-and-upcoming team within the American League Central, boasting of a young offense that projects to get better, including players like OF Alex Gordon, 1B Eric Hosmer, SS Alcides Escobar, and 3B Mike Moustakas.  The Indians then take their act to the West Coast to take on the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics.

Coming back to Progressive Field on April 24, the Cleveland Indians will take on the Kansas City Royals again, followed by a series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from April 27-29.  The Indians then go out on the road for a quick 3-game trip to begin the month of May to face the White Sox.  The Indians then come back home to host the AL Champion Texas Rangers from May 4-6, followed by another series against archrival Chicago.

The Indians will head out on the road to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox for a four-game series from May 10-13, followed by a quick two-game set in Minneapolis against AL Central rival Minnesota Twins.  The Indians will then have a two-game set at home against the Seattle Mariners before the first interleague series of 2012 commences, that being against the Miami Marlins, the new name of the Florida Marlins.  Old foe Ozzie Guillen, the former manager of the Chicago White Sox, now leads the Marlins into Progressive Field to take on the Cleveland Indians May 18-20.

The Indians return to American League action between May 22-24 with their first series of the 2012 season against the Detroit Tigers, the team that overtook them in the AL Central standings.  The Cleveland Indians will attempt to break a 10-game losing streak to the Tigers after the Indians won 6 of the first 8 meetings between the two teams in early 2011.  The Indians will finish the month of May with three games against the White Sox in Chicago and three games at home against the Royals.

The month of June sees the Indians start at home against the Minnesota Twins, but the Indians won’t see much of home in June, as 18 of their 27 games in June are on the road.  The first road trip involves a three-game set in Detroit against the Tigers from June 5-7, followed by two interleague series in St. Louis against the World Champion Cardinals and in Cincinnati against the intrastate rival Reds.

The Indians come home for two series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and against the Reds to conclude the “Battle of Ohio,” then head back out on the road to finish the month of June, with three-game series against the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, and a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.

The Cleveland Indians’ July schedule is a little more balanced between road and home, with 12 road games and 14 home games.  The Angels come to Cleveland for a three-game series July 2-4, followed by a visit from the Tampa Bay Rays for a four-game series July 5-8.  The Rays continue to excel as an organization with limited financial resources, yet still making the postseason in three of the past four seasons from the American League East despite the presence of New York and Boston in that division.  This leads up to the All-Star Break, for which the Indians are scheduled to have four days off this year instead of the usual three days.

When the Cleveland Indians resume play after the All-Star Break, they’ll begin on the road in Toronto to take on the Blue Jays July 13-15, followed by a four-game series down in St. Petersburg to once again take on the Rays July 16-19.  The Indians return home for a four-game series with the Baltimore Orioles, followed by a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers.  The Indians finish out the month of July with a three-game series in Minnesota against the Twins July 27-29, followed by the first of a three-game series in Kansas City against the Royals.

After the Indians complete their series in Kansas City, the Tigers await in Detroit for another showdown between potential American League Central contenders August 3-5.  The Indians return home to take on the Twins again in a three-game series, followed by the Boston Red Sox coming into town for a four-game series August 9-12.

The Cleveland Indians had only endured a six-game West Coast trip back in mid-April, but they’ll have to deal with a nine-game West Coast trip August 13-22, facing off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, and the Seattle Mariners.  After completing that challenging trip, the Indians face the New York Yankees at Progressive Field for three games August 24-26, followed by a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics August 27-30.  The Texas Rangers make a return trip to Progressive Field for a three-game series to end the month of August and begin the month of September.

The Cleveland Indians will then have a challenging roadtrip to endure in the early part of September, and one that could very well determine whether they make the postseason in 2012 or not, as they face off against two AL Central foes – Tigers for three games September 3-5 and Twins for four games September 7-9 – and a three-game series at Rangers’ Ballpark against AL Champion Texas September 10-13.

After the series with Texas, the Indians face AL Central foes for the rest of 2012, beginning with three games with the Tigers at home September 14-16, followed by three games with the Twins September 18-20.  The Indians take on the Royals and White Sox for three games each on the road, then follow that up by finishing the season with three games each against them at Progressive Field from September 28 to October 3.

Looking at the entire 2012 schedule, the Cleveland Indians’ greatest challenges may come from the following portions:

- The nine-game road trip, including six games on the West Coast, in the middle of April

- The month of June when they play just 9 games at home and 18 games on the road, including 9 games in National League parks that will keep veteran DH Travis Hafner to just one at-bat per game

- The nine-game road trip in late July to early August where the Indians face AL Central foes Minnesota, Kansas City, and Detroit in their respective home parks

- The nine-game road trip to the West Coast in mid-August to take on the Angels, Athletics, and Mariners

- The nine-game road trip in early to mid-September where the Cleveland Indians will take on the Tigers, Twins, and Rangers in their respective home parks

In order for the Indians to make the 2012 MLB Postseason, the Indians must play better on the road than they did in 2011, where their record was just 36-45, as compared to 44-37 at home.  The Indians must show more consistency offensively and defensively in 2012 to avoid the lulls and valleys they displayed in 2011, especially in the second half of the season.  Most of all, the Cleveland Indians must remain healthy, or at least, healthier than they did in 2011.  If the Indians can do these things, they can likely meet the challenge of handling a somewhat difficult 2012 MLB schedule and put themselves in position to make the postseason in 2012.

1936 to 1946 is regarded as the Bob Feller era.  In the 30’s they finished third or fourth most of the time.  The Cleveland Indians acquired a new superstar pitcher Feller.  He set a record of 17 strikeouts in a single game and led the league strikeouts from 1938 to 1941.  In 1940 they came within one game of the pennant.  In 1941 the Indians had a young team and a new manager Peckinpaugh, but the team finished fourth.

In 1946 the Cleveland Indians was purchased by Veeck’s investment group for $1.6 million.  Patkin was hired as coach.  The team moved to the massive Cleveland Municipal Stadium in 1947.  This stadium set a record for attendance in 1948 when 84000 fans watched the match against Boston Braves.  Veeck helped erase the color barrier by signing Doby.  Doby led the League twice in the number of homers.  Veeck signed aging star Paige at the age of 42 and surprisingly he did well with a 6-1 record, 2.48 ERA, 45 strikeouts and two shutouts.  In 1948 the Cleveland Indians beat the Boston Braves to claim their first championship in 28 years.  The notable players of this time were Doby and Bearden.  Veeck sold the team in 1949 to Ellis.  Despite rapid changes in ownership, the Indians has a powerhouse team composed of Feller, Doby, Minoso, Easter, Avila, Rosen, Wynn, Lemon and Garcia.  Unfortunately Cleveland won only a single pennant in the decade and finished second to NY Yankees five times.  The best season in the franchise history was in 1954 when they finished with a record of 111-43.  Their winning percentage of 1954, 0.721 is still an American League record.  The Indians returned to the World Series and faced the Giants, but were upset by them.  Willie Mays’ famous over the shoulder catch off the bat of Wertz is yet remembered by the fans.

From 1960 to 1993 the Indians had a 30 year slump.  All they could manage was third place in 1968, six fourth places in 1960, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1990 and 1992 but the rest of the time they were almost always at the bottom of the standings.  In 1957 a new general manager Lane joined.  Lane traded players heavily and tread on many toes in the process.  The 70’s were a shade better for the fortunes of the Indians.  The 80’s proved only to be marginally better for the Indians.  In 1990, a proposal for a new stadium was approved and with a new stadium, all they needed was a winning team.  The general manager Hart made a number of new moves and they did bring success.  He hired Hargrove to manage and hired Lofton who averaged 0.285 and 66 stolen bases.  They were named the organization of the year in 1992.T

The general manager Hart and the owner Jacobs managed to turn the team’s fortunes around.  In 1995 they won their first ever divisional title.  The players who contributed to this sterling performance were Belle, Thome, Ramirez and Nagy.  They defeated Boston Red Sox in the Division Series and Seattle mariners in ALCS to clinch a World Series berth, their first since 1954.  Sadly they lost to the Atlanta Braves.  They were the AL Central champions in 1996 but lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the Division series.  In 1996 every ticket for home games were sold out before the opening day.  In 1997 they took their third AL Central title but lost the World Series to the Florida Marlins.  2001 saw a return to the playoffs.  They won the central division with a 91-71 record.

The years 2002 to 2010 was regarded as the Shapiro era.  He rebuilt the team by easing out veterans and signing on youngsters.  They got nowhere in 2002, but in 2003 under the new manager Wedge they did show some improvement.  The Indians finished with a record of 81-81.   New players such as Knapp, Carrasco, Donald and Marson, Price, Hagadone, Masterson, Barnes and Talbot were inducted.  They finished last with a record of 65-97.  Wedge and the entire coaching team were replaced.  Acta was inducted as the 40th manager of the Indians.  In February 2010, Shapiro was promoted as team President and the Dolan became the new Chairman/CEO.  Chris Antonetti filled the general manager role.

The Cleveland Indians have shown in the past that they were a team to reckon with and their future prospects look bright.

We’re offering you a chance to watch the Cleveland Indians play live at Progressive Field. This stadium, conveniently known as “The Jake,” gives you a chance to be close to the action and watch your favorite baseball team in real style. The unique structural features of this stadium really sets it apart from other ballparks. For example, the stadium is illuminated by 19 toothbrush-shaped vertical light towers, which stand 218 feet above the playing field. These lights really give The Jake a distinctive look and fans should appreciate it. There are plenty of other places to enjoy around The Jake. You can visit Heritage Park in center field, which honors the Cleveland Indians Hall of Famers. So the next time you plan to going to see a ballgame, be sure to enjoy all the Cleveland Indians have to offer!

With Indian tickets, you can watch America’s team make another run for the playoffs and make history. And we offer them at the lowest prices, with access to the best seats in this truly advanced stadium, whether they’re luxury suites or club seats. We’ve also got great seats available for away games so that die-hard fans can make themselves heard and show their support. But these seats aren’t available for very long; in fact, they’re usually the first to go, so better act fast to make sure you can have a slice of Indians history.

We’ve got tickets available for all the Indians games this upcoming season, including the pre-season games. We make a point of securing tickets for even the most in-demand games so that you can have a shot at watching every game live. As real Indians fans ourselves, we know the value of watching a live Indians game, and we’re more than happy to share that opportunity with you.

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